Stitching summer
We have just arrived back in Germany after a wonderful summer in my childhood home in Wisconsin.
The distance and expense involved in getting a family of five across an ocean each summer mean that it’s the only vacation we are able to take all year. But it also means we have the luxury of being there for a whole month- so we can really relax, read entire stacks of books, play tons of games, and relish the time enjoying friends, nature, museums, and county fairs without worrying about a quickly dwindling hourglass.
Being away from my studio for a whole month always makes packing its own kind of challenge. What fabrics/threads/projects should I bring? What will I feel like working on? Should I bring something in progress or be open to the new ideas that come?
Usually, this means I totally overpack and bring ALL the things (just in case), but I’m quite proud that this year I packed very strategically and settled on exactly the right balance of new little projects and an ongoing big one.
This is a little glimpse of the giant one- which I debated whether I should leave behind or spend the summer stitching like the wind in hopes of meeting a deadline. When the incredibly talented and wise quilter Julie Reuben recommended I pack it, I listened and I am so glad I did. It was great to have a focus and a goal, and to be able to move forward without having to debate about what was next. As you can see, it was very stitching/time intensive and I was much relieved to have made my deadline with one day to spare. I’ll share more about this project soon.
And then came the mini projects, which are absolutely ideal for traveling. I made six of these tiny canvases, which I’m thrilled were accepted into the Itty Bitty exhibition (how could I resist?) at the VAR Small Works Gallery in Milwaukee. They will be on display until October and are also available for sale online.
Aren’t they cute? They are definitely the smallest things I’ve ever made, and I enjoyed every stitch.
Our Aurifil Artisan challenge for the month of August was slow stitching- which is certainly not a challenge for me at all since it’s the only kind of stitching I do. The only differences in my August slow stitching are the locations I can do it in. Wanting to journal those places, I packed a long strip of vintage bedlinen and chose one spool of Aurifil 12 weight thread (in Wine 5003)- and off we went:
I started it on the plane and made it to day 27 before running out of thread. I so enjoyed filling this scroll with memories, experiences, and little drawings (from everyone in the family) along the way. I hope someday my kids will enjoy unrolling this scroll and look back at a summer full of happy memories and stitches.
So that was the long and short of my summer stitching-
How was your summer?